Gordon Brown: France, Italy And German Banks May Need Bailout

France and Italy may need to be bailed out in the same way that Spain has been as the eurozone approaches its "day of reckoning", Gordon Brown has warned.

In an article for the Reuters news agency, the former prime minister warned that Monday’s G20 summit in Mexico was the "last chance" to avoid a global slowdown that would have a deep impact on the U.S. presidential election and even on China’s transition to a new leadership.

He also warned that even German banks may need to be recapitalised.

"Whichever way the Greeks vote in Sunday’s election, a chaotic exit from the euro is becoming more likely: Its tax revenues are collapsing, not rising as promised.," he said.

Unable to regain access to markets, Portugal and Ireland will soon have to ask for their second IMF programs.

Sadly Italy – and potentially even France – may soon follow Spain in needing finance as the European recession deepens.

"Even German banks, which are some of the most highly leveraged, are not immune from needing more capital.

Brown, who was prime minister during the economic crisis of 2008, said European leaders had "vacillated".

"Its euro-area bank recap added only half a percent of new bank equity – and an even smaller write-off of toxic debts," he said.

"Now, we must look for a bank recapitalization of anything between 200 billion and 500 billion euros."